Creating Accessible Media

Accessible media is essential for people with disabilities.  Accessibility features can also be used by people without disabilities in a variety of situations. Creating accessible media does involve some simple planning. This page will help you learn how to create digital media with accessibility in mind. 

*Note: this page is currently being updated and worked on routinely. Please continue to check back for updated information. 

MediaSite

MediaSite is the University's chosen video hosting platform. MediaSite offers the ability to add closed captions to any video uploaded to the site. It is recommended best practice to add closed captions to all videos regardless of a request for captioning. Closed captions can benefit everyone. 

  1. Upload Video 
  2. Once video upload is complete, select “Edit Details” on the right-side menu 
  3. On the next screen select the “Delivery” tab 
  4. Choose “Audio Transcription” 
  5. Select the “Provider” 
  6. Select "Automate Transcription” 
  7. Hit “Save” 
  8. At some point, you will receive an email notification that the captioning is in place 
  9. Always review your new captions before using them

Video

To meet with WCAG standards, video has some special considerations that needs to be taken into account. The Web Accessibility Initiative has an extensive guide on their website for Making Audio and Video Media Accessible which is recommended reading for anyone working with multimedia, but we will cover some general points below.

Does the video have audio?

In the modern web most videos have audio, and it can be used to communicate, to enhance, or simply to fill out the experience of a viewer. No matter what role that audio takes, it is important to consider its role in your presentation and how visitors will interact with it.

Captions vs Transcripts

  • Captions are a transcript that is presented during a video that provide a transcript of spoken words and relevant sounds.
  • Transcripts are separate information presented outside of audio or video that provide all of the information that would be in a caption, such as spoken language and relevant sounds, but may also expand on that information.

What are compliant captions?

  • Captions are synchronized with the audio of who is speaking
  • Captions need to identify who is speaking when:
    • It is not evident who is speaking
    • The video has more than one speaker
  • Captions must be manually checked for correctness

YouTube Automatic Captioning

YouTube offers free automatic AI-driven captioning. It automatically turns on if speaking is detected in the first few seconds of a video, but can also be manually run on a video. Being AI based, you should always read through and verify their accuracy prior to use. You can find more information in the Google Support pages.

Does your video present its information purely visually, purely through audio, or both?

  • When creating a video or presentation, take into consideration that a person may not have access to audio and require all information to be visual, or conversely have no access to the visual and require all information be accessible via audio.

Is your audio/visual presentational or informative? 

  • If your audio or visual information in the video is simply presentational for the video, then people accessing your video who only are able to access one or the other will gain nothing. 
  • Make sure you indicate before the video if the audio or visuals are simply presentational and where alternative methods of accessing the information (usually a transcript) can be found.

Do you have good transcripts?

  • Transcripts can be created from the caption file itself or typed-up separately 
  • Transcripts aren't necessarily just what is said, they can and should include context of what is said and who is speaking.
  • Transcripts can also include descriptions of sounds or even of visual elements such as text that appears on the screen but is not read aloud.
  • Present the transcript or a link to it contextually near the video. 
  • Some video providers such as YouTube or OSU MediaSite (see above) provide automatic AI-based transcription/captioning, but these should always be checked for accuracy.
    • You may be able to upload a video, have it transcribed, then download the transcript/captions for use.
  • See the next section - Audio Only Media - for another free AI based option available to OSU users.

Audio Only Media

The most common form of audio only media are podcasts. When creating audio only content, make sure there is a written transcript to coincide with the audio. While this can be done manually, there are services that can do this using AI, though they often come with an associated cost.

One option available to OSU users is Microsoft Office 365, which can transcribe audio for free. Please see their documentation on how to leverage this service.

Additional Resources

W3C Captions and Subtitles

Understanding WCAG 1.2.2

W3C Transcripts

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